Burner system



Mar. 3, 1925.

4 1,528,634 F. W. ROBERTSHAW ET AL BURNER SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Sheet l I gin-van fozd Q11. mm

Filed June 5, 1920 Mar. 3, 1925.

F. W.,ROBERTSHAW ET AL BURNER SYSTEM Filed June 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I M attoznago F. w. ROBERTSHAW ET AL Mar. 3, 1925.

BURNER SYSTEM Filed June 5, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 gwvento'd (L. RMRW Mar. 3, 1925.

1,528,634 F. w. ROBERTSHAW ET AL BURNER SYSTEM Filed June 5, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 gwoe'ntow 61cm 112E161 Patented Mar. 3, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,52s,e34 PATENTOFFICE. I

rnnnnnrcx wlnonnn rsnaw, or PITTSBURGH, AND GEORGE A. 'nonnnrrsnaw, or

- ennnnsnune, rnnnsyrvnnm,

BURNER SYSTEM.

Application filed June 3,

To all whom it may concern:

,ERTSHAW and GEORGE A. RoBnRTsHAw, both citizens of the United States,- residing, respectively, at Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, have-invented a new and useful Improvement in Burner Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates particularly to burner systems, and more particularly to systems of this type employing a pressure burner.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide 33 system in which the pressure burner may be located at any desired position and'controlled either manually or by a suitable thermostat.

I Another object of the invention is to pros vide a thermostatic system comprising a pressure burner adapted to receive a combustible mixture of air and gas, oil and gas, or the like, which burner may occupy any convenient position and which is controlled indirectly by a thermostat through the me-.

dium of one of the thereto.

Still another object of the present lnvenfluids or. gases supplied tion is to provide a pressure burner of the class described, supplled with a. combustible mixture throu h a plurality of valves, which valves may bot be operated by a diaphragm, the position of which is dependent upon the amount of pressure directed thereagainstby the action of the controlling thermostat.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system-of the nature described controllable at will by either the action of a thermostat or manually without necessitating any change inthe system.'

A still further object of theirivention is to provide-a safety system of this character with means whereby the cessation of flow of one of the combustibles will automatically shut oil the burner.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a system in whiclrthe proportion of combustibles supplied may be varied at will and the burner brought into operation or taken out of operation without affecting this proportion.

' The foregoing and other objects, together with their attendant advantages, will be apparent as the invention becomes better un- 1920. Serial No. asaiz.

derstood by reference to the accompanying specification and drawings forming a part I thereof, it being premised that changes may be made in the various details and the mannor of operation within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View partly broken away showing one form of system embodying the presentinvention. V

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view partly ,in section illustrating the operation of certain of the valves.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view partly in elevation and partly broken away of a slightly modified formof system.

Figures 4'and 5 are diagrammatic views of, further modifications, and P Figure 6 is adetail view of a modification.

At the present time it is customaryto provide pressure burners receiving a combustible supply of steam, oil and air, or gasolene and air, or other suitable mixtures. In such burners, if the supply of air under pressure is suddenly cut ofl, the gasflame will flare out thereby endangering the lives of those employed in the vicinity of the burner. By means of the present invention this danger is entirely eliminated.

It is also desirable in systems employing pressure burners to provide means. for operating the burner on a combustible mixture of predetermined proportions of the different fluids or gases. In some instances a pilot flame burns continuously after a predetermined temperature has been reached, the main supply of the combustible being cut ofi' by thermostatically controlled valves. By means of the present invention, the main supply of the combustion ingredients may be out off or admitted to theburner without effecting the proportions of the individual combustion ingredients. lVith the system' illustrated in the, drawings this cutting off, or admitting, may be accomplished either thermostatically or manually.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated a system comprising an air supply 2 and a gas supply 3. In serted in each of these combustioningredient supply lines is a suitable inden' cock 4, which. controls the amount of'the individual combustion ingredient passing therethrougl, thereby permitting an accurate proportioifing of the different combustion ingredients.

by-passes are illustrateddiagrammatically for the sake of clearness. From the valves 5 and 5 the airand gas mayepassto a burner manifold 11 from which is supplied a series of burners'12. In Figure 1 these burners are shown extending below a tank 14 adapted to contain a solder bath of any desired composition. It will be understood that the. burners l2.are preferably of the pressure type being supplied. by a source of,

air and gas under pressure. 4 g

Connected to the airsupply 2, there is indicated a branch 15 leading to one side of a valve 16 which'may be of any desired con struction adapted to be operated by the thermostatic element 17 immersed the solder bath in the tank 14. The opposite,

or outlet side of the'valve 16 is connected by a branch 18 to the casing 19-containing a diaphragm 20 suitably mounted therein.

I Assuming thetemperature-of the bathin the tank '14to have fallenbelow a prede- 185 tel-mined point, the valve 16 will be opened by the action of the thermostatic element 17 to allow air to pass through the branch pipes 15 and 18 to the diaphragm casing 19. This air under pressure will depress the 40 diaphragm 20, thereby opening both the cutofl members 7 and 7 through the rods 21. This will supply an additional amount of combustion ingredients to the burner manifold 11, which feeds the burners-12, thereby producing a hotter flame which will result 1n raising the temperature of the solder bath. As soonas the desired temperature has been reached, the valve 16 will be closed thereby cutting off the supply of air to the casing 19 and permitting the: diaphragm 2O to return to its normal position. This will result in a closing of the valves 5 andsas willcbe well understood. The portion of the casing 19 below the diaphragm may be provided with ableed opening 22, per-' mittingv the unrestricted operation of the diaphragm, and the branch line 18 "may in like manner be provided witha bleed opening 24. This latter openingis preferably controlled by a screw 25.- It will be obvious that at no time is the opening 24 opened to such an extent as to preventthebuilding up of a diaphragm operating pressure within the casing 19.

s One of the valuable features of the presto the valve 16.

ent invention comprises the insertion in the branch llne 15 of a' valve 26, preferably manually controlled. By means of this valve, the air pressure to the casing 19-may -be cut off at will causing the valves 5 and 5- to close without affecting the proportion of the different combustion ingredients as controlled by the index cock a.

It will be obvious that if desired, gas may be supplied through the pipe 2 and. air

through the pipe 3 without affecting the operativeness of the present system. In case th1s reversal of the combustion ingredients is made, it is desirable that a space27 be left between the adjacent ends of the independent rods 21 so that theair valve will not be opened until slightly after the opening of the gas valve. This feature is important in someinstallations as it prevents the accidentalblowing outof the flame.

for the purpose of inspecting, repairing or cleaning the same.

It will be apparent from the foregoing descrlption that the solder bath forms no part of the present invention, but is shown merely as one use towhich the system may be placed.

Another important feature of the present lnvention resides in the provision in the casing 19 of an adjustable screw 29 by means of which the diaphragm 20 may be manually depressed to hold the valves 5 and 5 in open position, irrespective of the operation of the thermostat. Due to this construction, our system readily. adapts itself to use either with or without "thermostats, thereby greatly increasing its value.

In Figure 3 there is illustrated a slightly modified form of our invention comprising a gas supply 30 and an air supply 31. In

this system, the gas supply 30 passes through Operating pressure in the casing 35 is obtainedthrough the branch 36 having a manually operable valve 37 therein corre sponding to the valve 26 described heretofore. This branch is also provided with a thermostatically operated valve 38 which may be similar in construction and operation medium in the present instance, the bleed opening above the diaphragm preferably As gas is the operatingescape of the released gas into the atmosphere.

valves 32 and 40, respectively, the gas and I The air supply in this system may be con trolled by a valve 40. After passing the air may be conducted to a common burner connection 41-functioningas a manifold, or supplying an individual pressure burner.

In Figure 4 there is illustrated a system employing our invention and; comprising only one combustion ingredient supply line. This system corresponds generally to the construction shown in Figure 3, and the cor respondiiig parts are indicated by the same reference characters with the letter a aflixed thereto. With this arrangement, Pthe combustion ingredient passing through the line is controlled by a main valve 32? which is, in turn, operated by a diaphragm within the casing 35. The branch forthe actuating fluid for the diaphragm is con trolled either by 'the' manually operable valve 37* or the t ermostatically controlled valve 38, as will be apparent.

In Figure 5 there is illustrated a form of our invention in which no thermostatic valve is employed. This arrangement illustrates the safety feature of our invention by providing means for preventing flaring out of the gas in case the air supply is sud-g denly cut off. This arrangement comprises generally the arrangement disclosed in Figure 3, and the same reference characters with the letter 'b,-affixed thereto have been used arts. I

It will be apparent that with the branch 36 connected to the air.upply line 31" failure of the air supply will result in. relieving pressure from the upper surface of the diaphragm in the casing 35*, thereby closing the-valve 32 This feature is highly desirable as it prevents accidents due to flaring out of the gas flame. D

In actual practice it has b sirable to make the valve operating stem 21, as shown in" Figure 2, separate from'the diaphragm 20. By reason of this construction binding action is not transmitted by the diaphragm to the valve operating stem.

It has also been found highly desirable in actual installations to provide with systems such as shown in Figures, 1 and 2, a

device for adjusting the relative positions. and times of'operation of the cut-offs 7 and Such a device is illustrated in these figures and is shown in detail in Figure 6 in which figure parts corresponding to parts described in-. connection',with Figures 1 and.

2. are designated with .the same reference characters with'the letter c affixed there-- to; In this drawing, one of the rods 21,

Within the yoke I 28 is provided with an opening50 extending therethrough for preventing rotation of the rods while applying or adjusting an internally threaded ca 51 thereon.- This-cap may also 'beprovlded to designate" the corresponding een found deof a suitable tool for turning the same. The cap is illustrated as having a set screw 53 for holding it in adjusted position. It will be apparent that a device of this nature enestablished.

We claim:

1. A thermostatically controlled system comprising a combustion ingredient supply line, a valve controlling the flow through said line, a diaphragm for operating sazd valve, a' thermostat, means controlled by said thermostat for directing an actuating medium from said supply lineagainst said diaphragm to operate thevalve, and means for controlling said valve independently of said thermostat, substantially as described. 2. A thermostatically controlled system, comprising a combustion ingredient supply line, a valve controlling the flow through said line, a branch connected to said line, a thermostat controlling the flow through said branch, a valve operating diaphragm controlled by the pressure through said branch,

.and means operable independently of said thermostat for o erating substantially as escribed.

3. A thermostatically controlled system, comprising a plurality of combustion ingredient supply lines, a controlling valve in each of said lines, a diaphragm for operating said valves, a pressure branch connected to one of'said lines, a thermostat controlling said diaphragm,

.with an opening 52 permitting the insertion I the flow through said branch, means conmeeting the branch to the controlling diaphragm for operating the valveswhen the branch is opened by the action of thethermostat, and means operable independently substantially as described. v

I l. A system of the class described, comprising a plurality of combustion ingredient supply lines communicating therewith, valves controlling the flow through said lines, adiaphragm casing, a diaphragm therein for operating the valves, a pressure branch connected toone of said lines and to said diaphragm casing, a valve in said shranch, a thermostat controlling the position of said last mentioned valve for controlling the passage of operating pressure to saiddiaphragm, and me ns independent of said thermostat for operating said valves,

- of said thermostat for operating said valves,

substantially as described.

5. In a system of the class described, a plurality of combustion ingredient supply lines, normally closed valves in each of said lines, and a diaphragm for controlling allof said valves, one of said valves being operable by said diaphragm in advance of the other, substantially as described.

6. In a system of the class described, a

b plurality of combustion ingredient supply lines, normally closed, valves controlling the supply through each of said lines, and a single means for operating said valves one in advance of the other, substantially as described.

7. In a system of the class described, a combustion ingredient supply line, a valve in said line, a pressure controlled means for operating said valve, a branch from said supply line for supplying pressure to said means, and a manually operable valve in said branch, substantially as described.

8. In a system of the class described, a combustion ingredient supply line, a valve in said line, a pressure controlled means for operating said valve, a branch from said supply line for supplying pressure to said means, a manually operable valve in said branch, and a thermostatically controlled valve in said branch, substantially as described.

9. In a system of the class described, a

plurality of valves, a yoke connecting the same, aligned operating rods secured to said valves, and an adjusting means intermediate the ends of saidrods, substantially as described.

10. In a system of the class described, a plurality of normally closed valves, operating rods therefor, said operating rods extending in' alignment, means for operating said valves, and an adjustable member in termediate the ends of said rods and adaptsupply l1ne' for supplying pressure to said means, and a plurality of independent means for controlling the flow through" said branch, substantiallyas described.

13. In a burner system, a plurality of substantially as described.

combustion ingredient supply lines, valves controlling the flow through said lines, a

diaphragm casing, a diaphragm therein for operating the valves, a pressure by-pass connected to one of said lines and the said diaphragm casing, a manually operable valve in said by-pass, a second valve in said by-pass, and a thermostat controlling the position of said second valve for control-- ling the passage of operating pressure to said d'aphragm, substantially as described.

14. In a burner system, a plurality of combustion ingredient supply lines, a valve' in each of said lines, and valves having operating stems extending in alignment and freely spaced one from the other, and a diaphragm for controlling all of said valves, one of said valves being operable in advance of the other by an amount corresponding to said space, substantially as described.

. 15. In a burner system, a plurality of combustion ingredient supply lines, valves controlling the supply through said lines, said valves having freely spaced operating stems extending in alignment, and a single means for operatingsaid valves one in advance of the other by an amount corresponding to the space between said stems, substantially as described.

16. In a burner system, a pressure supply line, a combustion ingredient supply line, a

controlling valve in said combustion 1ng'redient supply line, a diaphragm foroperating sa d valve, a'by-pass from said pres:

sure line to said diaphragm for controlling the operation thereof, and a plurality of independently operable means for controlling the flow through said by-pass, substantially as described. I

17. In a burner system, a plurality of valves, a yoke connecting said valves, aligned operating rods secured to said valves and providing a space between the adjacent ends thereof, and an adjustable means for varying the amount of said space,

18. In a burner system, a pressure supply line, a combustion ingredient supply line, a controlling valve in said combustion ingredient supply line, a diaphragm for operating said valve, a by-pass from said pressure line to said d'aphragm forcontrolling the posit on thereof, thermostatic means for controlling the flow through said by-p ass, and means operable independently of said thermostatic means for manually controlling the flow through said by-pass, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, We have hereunto set our hands.

FREDERICK W. ROBERTSHAW. GEORGE A. ROBERTSHAW. 

